From TM-EX Newsletter, Volume 4, Number 1, Winter, 1992

INDIA

A Visit to the Shankaracharya

Introduction: Over a thousand years ago(1), Adi Shankara, renowned for
his revival of the knowledge of Vedic Sanatan Dharma or the worship of
God, according to the Vedic Scriptures, and also for his commentaries
on several major Hindu Scriptures, established four major monasteries
in India. These monasteries, or ``Maths'' were located in the North,
South, East and Western parts of India. These Maths or ``Peeths''
(monasteries) were overseen by ``Shankaracharyas'' according to the
tradition and wishes prescribed by Adi Shankara. Shankara was also
widely accepted in India as the descension of Lord Shiva, the Hindu
deity responsible for the final dissolution of the universe. The
primary responsibility of each of the four Shankaracharyas, while
overseeing the four Maths, has been the preservation of the major
systems of Hindu philosophy which form the basis of the Hindu
religion. Within the monasteries, the Shankaracharyas took disciples,
who in some cases, assumed the revered title of Shankaracharya upon
the death of their Spiritual Master. Those Shankaracharyas travelled
extensively throughout India preaching their particular sect's beliefs
to all Hindus.

The title ``Shankaracharya'' is a traditional title handed down to
that person, who according to Adi Shankara, the original
Shankaracharya, is Brahmin by birth, established in Yoga, or in other
words, whose soul is in union with God and who is thereby
Divine. Having achieved this union through lifetimes of spiritual
practice and renunciation, now, as living Divinity, he is ``pujapad,''
his feet are worthy of worship. His Scriptural understanding is so
perfect that he can synthesize the Scriptures of all Religions. He is
Vedanta Incarnate, the embodiment of Hindu Scripture, and further, he
must be recognized as Shankaracharya by the other three
Shankaracharyas, having received proper initiation by them according
to Hindu Scriptural injunctions. Recognized also means that the other
Shankaracharyas are willing to sit alongside him at major religious
festivals.

According to the rules laid down by Shankara, the only possibility of
removing a Shankaracharya is, if, during his lifetime he should become
mentally infirm or prove by his actions or judgment that he is not
qualified to hold the title which is held sacred by Hindus.  If such a
case exists, a new Shankaracharya is elected by a learned body of
pundits, called ``Kashi Vidwat Parishad,'' according to the
tradition. In this way, the title of Shankaracharya and these Maths or
monasteries have been maintained and handed down from Master to
Disciple for thousands of years. This lineage is commonly known as the
``Shankaracharya Tradition.''

PART I

In October 1986, several months before my case against the
Transcendental Meditation movement was to begin in Washington, D.C., I
contacted Shree Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati. Shree
Shankaracharya, reported and pictured in The Illustrated Weekly of
India(2), has the unique distinction of holding the dual title,
Jagadguru Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math (Jyotish Peeth Monastery)
of Northern India, as well as the Shankaracharya of the Dwarka Math in
Western India.

Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati was a pre-eminent disciple of Swami
Brahmananda Saraswati (Guru Dev). Brahmananda Saraswati, whose picture
is customarily seen behind Mahesh Yogi, was also Mahesh Yogi's
Spiritual Master.  Guru Dev held the title of Shankaracharya of Jyotir
Math, the monastery located in Northern India, until his death, by
poisoning, in 1954.

My interest in contacting the Shankaracharya was to attempt to discern
whether or not, from the Shankaracharya's understanding of Indian
Scripture, I had been misled by Mahesh Yogi. Further, as a teacher of
TM, I wanted to know if, in fact, I represented the Shankaracharya
Tradition as I had been told by Mahesh Yogi. Most of all, it was an
attempt to find out what had happened to my mind from the practice of
TM and the TM Sidhi programs.

The Shankaracharya, Swaroopanand Saraswati, had been invited to attend
a five day birthday celebration of Guru Dev's oldest living disciple,
Swami Akandananda, at the Akandananda ashram in the town of Vrindaban,
India. A great tent and stage had been erected to hold several
thousand guests. These guests included Shantinand (seen pictured to
the right of the Shankaracharya Swaroopanand) and Vishnu Devanand (not
pictured with the Shankaracharya), both of whom had previously
attempted to lay claim to the title of Shankaracharya of the Northern
seat.

When I arrived in Vrindaban, I settled into a hotel, then made my way
to Akandananda's ashram. There were several hundred people listening
to a speech on the Vedas. After making some inquiries, I quickly
learned that Shankaracharya had not yet arrived, but was given the
address of the house at which he was staying. I visited with the
family and left my name and hotel address, hoping that Shankaracharya
would contact me when he arrived.

Early the next morning, one of Shankaracharya's devotees brought word
that he had arrived in the middle of the night and I was to come at
lunchtime. Arriving at the house, I was taken to a side courtyard.
Having removed my shoes according to custom, my host requested that I
bathe my hands and feet prior to being taken to Shankaracharya's
bedroom. Finally, the moment had arrived. I was taken down a long
corridor and ushered into a bedroom. Shankaracharya was sitting
crosslegged on the bed. He spoke in Hindi, pointing to one of his
disciples dressed in orange. As he spoke, his disciple began
translating. Shankaracharya asked my name and if I was the same
gentleman who had contacted him.  He asked if I had eaten and motioned
to one of his disciples to serve me lunch, and we would talk again
later. A traditional Indian lunch was served in the courtyard. By this
time, about fifty people were at the house, including his disciples,
dignitaries and local government officials who had come to receive his
darshan and to welcome him to Vrindaban.

After resting in the afternoon, Shankaracharya once again summoned me
to his room. There were about twenty people in the room sitting on the
floor. After bowing in customary fashion to show my respect, I was
asked to relate my questions to Shankaracharya. I began by telling him
how I had started practicing TM, met Mahesh Yogi (as Shankaracharya
called him), and had eventually become a teacher of TM. In particular,
I read statements from TM literature saying TM came from the
Shankaracharya tradition. I then read aloud the famous statement which
was allegedly written by a Shankaracharya, which described Mahesh Yogi
as the protector of the Shankaracharya Tradition, Rishi of Rishis and
a descension of Shankara himself. I explained that these kinds of
statements were used on courses and during fundraisers by TM officials
to garner financial and emotional support from TM members. Further, I
spoke aloud the sixteen mantras: eng, em, enga, ema, aing, aim, ainga,
aima, shiring, shirim, hiring, hirim, kiring, kirim, shyam and shyama,
and the method of giving them by age as I had been taught by Mahesh
Yogi. Next came the advanced techniques. Finally, I described the TM
Sidhi Program.

Shankaracharya looked physically distressed and his bowed head shook
from side to side as the statements were translated. Then, after what
seemed to be an eternal silence, he began to speak. He stated that his
Master had left a will which clearly stated the names of those
individuals who were to assume the title and responsibilities of
Shankaracharya after his death. After the murder of his Master, the
next in line was Shantinand. He said Mahesh immediately had him moved
into the ashram to assume authority. Then, [Mahesh] used
[Shantinand's] name after leaving India, to show that he taught under
the authority of Shankaracharya.

In the meantime, he (Swaroopanand) said he had been given the title of
Shankaracharya of Dwarka Math and travelled extensively throughout
India preaching. He recalled that Shantinand did not have the proper
training or credentials to hold the title of Shankaracharya, and
eventually, after proving himself unfit to hold the title, the same
learned pundits who had elected Brahmananda Saraswati to the throne
asked Swaroopanand to take the title and responsibilities of the
Jyotir Math ashram, until such time as another qualified person could
be appointed. He agreed, and was given initiation as Shankaracharya of
Jyotir Math.

Shantinand, at the direction of Mahesh Yogi, refused to give up
possession of the Jyotir Math ashram and forced the matter into
litigation. Years later, Shantinand finally gave up the title and
Mahesh had Vishnu Devanand assume the title and possession of the
ashram. In so doing, they also clearly ignored the will of Guru Dev
which had specified the name Dvarikeshanand Saraswati as the second in
line to receive the title. This was to occur, according to the will of
Guru Dev, should Shantinand prove unqualified or leave the
ashram. Swaroopanand continued, stating, it was written by my Lord
(Guru Dev) that ``this is my will and command.''  He said that the
scheme by Mahesh to appoint Vishnu Devanand was clearly gross
disrespect of his own Master's desire.  He said all of this was being
done to delude Westerners. Mahesh needs a Shankaracharya to continue
spreading his net of deception. He said, as Shankaracharya, it is my
clear and absolute duty to uphold the true teaching of Shree Shankara.

Fact is fact, he stated, these things you have described to me have
nothing to do with the Shankaracharya Tradition. The so-called mantras
or meaningless sounds as you have described them are primarily used to
gain material wealth and comfort, not for spiritual enlightenment.
Further, my Master (Guru Dev) never gave the mantras you have
described, his mantras were not mantras for material comfort, his were
to uplift the soul, remove his material attachments and for
realization of God.

He invited me to attend the meeting with him in the tent that evening.
As he entered the tent, a loud voice announced the entrance of Shree
Swaroopanand Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth and
Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth. There were now about 2,000 people in
attendance.  All prostrated as he entered the tent, walked on stage
and assumed the throne of Shree Shankaracharya.

He gave discourse on the special teaching responsibilities of
Shankaracharya and those who claim they belong to the Tradition. He
described how the world, particularly the West, had no understanding
of Indian spiritual traditions or Scriptures. Further, he stated to
mislead Westerners was a grave insult to India and to those Westerners
who relied on such misrepresentations.

I returned that evening to Shankaracharya's house and was immediately
taken to see him. He asked, did you see Shantinand on the stage? I
replied yes. He said, word came to me that he (Shantinand) had
requested to be allowed on the stage. I allowed him to be present only
because he has given up this nonsense of claiming title to
Shankaracharya.  He said Vishnu Devanand, Mahesh's so-called
Shankaracharya, was also here in Vrindaban, he also requested to come
onto the stage, but I refused. Then, he (Vishnu Devanand) stated he
would sit on a lower, undecorated seat if I allowed him to attend. I
refused him. Then, he again begged to simply sit on the floor of the
stage at my feet, if I allowed him to be publicly present. Again I
refused. He said, if I allow him to be seen with me, and all the while
wrongfully claiming title as Shankaracharya, it will appear as if I
approve of his activity, and I do not. Therefore, he said, I have
ordered that he may not even come into the tent to sit in the
audience.

He went on the describe how some mentally disturbed man in India had
put on saffron robes and claimed to be a Shankaracharya. He said he
travelled throughout India and gathered a few disciples who innocently
were being deceived and who followed him. He said, anyone can build a
throne, put on orange robes and claim the title of Shankaracharya--who
would stop them? However, the true test of the title is whether the
other Shankaracharyas, who initiate the new Shankaracharya, will sit
publicly with him. During special spiritual ceremonies, all
Shankaracharyas must be present and sit together. He said no other
Shankaracharya will publicly sit with Vishnu Devanand, nor would he.

Shankaracharya then warned me that Mahesh now knows you are here in
Vrindaban with me. He has sent Nadikishor and his spies here with
others to watch you, you must be very careful. He placed a guard
outside of my bedroom door at night and had someone travel with me at
all times. Much to my amazement, I discovered that, in fact, I was
being followed.

The next time, we met with the local press present. There he wanted
the world to bear witness against the gross misrepresentations and
disrespect which was being perpetrated against the Shankaracharya
Tradition. On a warm Autumn evening, in Vrindaban, India, he answered
the following questions, which I and others asked him. Robert
Kropinski~


 -TO BE CONTINUED-

1--Shankara, 788-820, Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion,
Schuhmacher, Woerner Editors, Shambhala, Boston

2--The Illustrated Weekly of India, September 13, 1987